Strmen is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

in central

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

, in the municipality of Sunja,

Sisak-Moslavina County Sisak-Moslavina County ( hr, Sisačko-moslavačka županija) is a Croatian Counties of Croatia, county in eastern Central Croatia and southwestern Slavonia. It is named after the city of Sisak and the region Moslavina just across the river Sava. ...

. It is located in the

Banija , settlement_type = Geographic region , image_skyline = Banovina-Banija-Банија.jpg , image_caption = Collage of Banovina Photos , image_shield = , shield_size ...

region.

History

The village of Strmen was established in the late 17th century by the

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

Serb settlers from Podkozarje area in Bosnia. The village became a part of the

Military Frontier The Military Frontier (german: Militärgrenze, sh-Latn, Vojna krajina/Vojna granica, Војна крајина/Војна граница; hu, Katonai határőrvidék; ro, Graniță militară) was a borderland of the Habsburg monarchy and l ...

which, at the time, was expanding onto former Ottoman territories such as

Lika Lika () is a traditional region of Croatia proper, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. On the north-west end Lika is bounded by Ogulin-Plaški basin, and on the south-east by ...

Kordun The Kordun () region is a part of central Croatia from the bottom of the Petrova Gora (Peter's mountain) mountain range, which extends along the rivers Korana and Slunjčica, and forms part of the border region to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Within C ...

Banija , settlement_type = Geographic region , image_skyline = Banovina-Banija-Банија.jpg , image_caption = Collage of Banovina Photos , image_shield = , shield_size ...

and lower

Slavonia Slavonia (; hr, Slavonija) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria, one of the four historical regions of Croatia. Taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with five Croatian counties: Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baranja ...

. During the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the village was a part of the Nazi-puppet state, the

Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia ( sh, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; german: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; it, Stato indipendente di Croazia) was a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist It ...

, in the municipality of Crkveni Bok, which comprised the villages of Crkveni Bok, Strmen and

Ivanjski Bok Ivanjski Bok is a village in central Croatia, in the municipality of Sunja, Sisak-Moslavina County. It is located in the Banija region, in the fertile plains on the right bank of the Sava river, to the east of the town of Sunja and some 20 ...

. Already in early autumn of 1941, the villages' population was subjected to conversion to the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

faith. The three villages, often referred to as the "

Banija , settlement_type = Geographic region , image_skyline = Banovina-Banija-Банија.jpg , image_caption = Collage of Banovina Photos , image_shield = , shield_size ...

Triangle", suffered heavy demographic losses with nearly 30% of its population perishing in the

Culture

Demographics

According to the 2011 census, the village of Strmen has 135 inhabitants. This represents 37.92% of its pre-

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

population. According to the 1991 census,Izdanje Državnog zavoda za statistiku RH: Narodnosni sastav stanovništva RH od 1880-1991. godine. 92.42% of the village population were ethnic

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

(329/356).
:

Notable natives and residents

References

Populated places in Sisak-Moslavina County Serb communities in Croatia {{SisakMoslavina-geo-stub